Quoted from Manimal:

No one has ever said it takes 3 inserts, bla bla bla.

Quoted from golfingdad1:

Actually my distributor did .

Quoted from golfingdad1:

Actually my distributor did .

Quoted from Manimal:

My dad always said to believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.

Quoted from Manimal:

And we all know how well informed the distributors have been. My dad always said to believe none of what you hear and half of what you see. Unless it comes direct from Stern, I would treat it with a grain of salt. Gary is on video saying they are going to take care of the playfield. Now I am by no means a fan of Gary, but I have to believe he meant what he said, else he knows folks will roast him at the stake. Just buy the game and stop worrying so much.

Quoted from Aurich:

FWIW I heard they never changed suppliers when I was out at Expo. The story I heard was that Churchill lost their 40 year vet playfield guy, and that was the source of problems. Who knows. Pinball people gossip like crazy.
I don't think anyone here actually knows shit, just lots of rumors being repeated. My story is as good as yours, meaning not really worth a damn.
Hopefully they fix it, sucks for anyone who gets screwed. But why not just wait until Stern stops playing the stupid lalalala silence game and announces they've fixed it? Why roll the dice? Do you really need a game that fast?
Rarehero looks like the smart dude here, even if that second waffle was pretty questionable looking.

Quoted from Wakky:

Omg stop worrying. . You could walk out the door and get hit by a bus... does that mean that you never leave the house? No....enjoy life..enjoy the pinball and stop worrying

Quoted from FreeBee:

Playfield problems aside, our LE GB has some hardware that already looks very rusted. Came right out of the box like that. Seen it at other Sterns as well. Seriously? Both hinge bolts, both gate flaps, and there is a single washer on the left sling that is brown and corroded.
Not a single game played, first we'll install a playfield protector and the anti-bounce cover in the lower area.
All this aside, the game is looking very well.

Quoted from golfingdad1:

Actually my distributor did .

Quoted from Jdawg4422:

that's absurd.
Thats like saying you know at a 4PM there is a 20% chance of a bus coming down the road. Well if you cross the street anyway eventually you will be hit by a car. I choose to wait until there is closer to a 0% of the bus coming down the road when i want to cross the street.

Quoted from FreeBee:

Playfield problems aside, our LE GB has some hardware that already looks very rusted. Came right out of the box like that. Seen it at other Sterns as well. Seriously? Both hinge bolts, both gate flaps, and there is a single washer on the left sling that is brown and corroded.
Not a single game played, first we'll install a playfield protector and the anti-bounce cover in the lower area.
All this aside, the game is looking very well.

Quoted from thall17:

Straight from Stern: Play field issues resolved and more premiums will be coming off the line early next week.

Quoted from pindude80:

I mentioned the clearcoat chipping, especially at the drain and he said chipping is expected at the drain and considered normal. I was thinking really, none of my Bally/WMS or Data East have chipping at the drain and most were routed for years. He said they will send you a touch-up kit to fix it.

Quoted from golfingdad1:

Why would any distributor just make that up, and just happen to come up with the exact same number ,3, as what I was told.
They wouldn't .

Quoted from Manimal:

Sure they would. First, that number has been floating around Pinside for months now. I'm sure a lot of distros frequent this board incognito. Second, and most importantly, it gives the buyer something.....some kind of answer to get the customer off his ass for a while.
They know nothing more than the rest of us. If they did, one of them would be posting it to calm the fears so they can sell more games.

Quoted from FreeBee:

Playfield problems aside, our LE GB has some hardware that already looks very rusted. Came right out of the box like that. Seen it at other Sterns as well. Seriously? Both hinge bolts, both gate flaps, and there is a single washer on the left sling that is brown and corroded.

Quoted from Wakky:

Omg stop worrying. . You could walk out the door and get hit by a bus... does that mean that you never leave the house? No....enjoy life..enjoy the pinball and stop worrying

Quoted from DerRoland:

Thats so bad, seriously. Too much humity in STERNs warehouse? And all on a lovely LE, I´m so sorry for you.

Quoted from rubberducks:

What in the actual fuck ....
How is that even possible? Especially the one on the pf. Where are you based? Was it shipped by container and then potentially impounded at a customs clearing warehouse for an extended period? Regardless, still shouldn't happen.
They must be using some super-duper cheap chinese steel ... looks like it's been given repeated salt water baths.

Quoted from pindude80:

Dang man, I can't believe the shooter lane looks that punished with under 1k plays How many total ghosted inserts do you have? Did you notice any inserts ghosted when you first took it out of the box?

Quoted from Cdonnerusmc:

I did not count the number of total inserts that have ghosted, I'll check and get back to you. And I actually had portland pinball repair unbox it and intall the playfield protector etc.. so i actually never saw it till Friday night at the expo. Normally I would have picked it up myself but I just had major knee surgery so I'm not getting around well right now.

Quoted from Chambahz:

You are all welcome to doubt me, and just as welcome to sit back and wait for the rest of us to buy pins so you can see if we have problems.
I'm telling you: problems are fixed. The new Premiums that have arrived appear to be problem free.
Go ahead and give me thumbs down, or whine and complain all you want -but I challenge anyone to ACTUALLY FIND A PROBLEM PLAYFIELD ON A GB PREMIUM MANUFACTURED IN THE PAST 2 WEEKS OR NEWER.
That's the test. Not whether some guy presently working at the Stern factory in Kabul says so. Especially since many of these guys have been ripping into Stern non-stop for days.
Pinsiders who often seem to have accurate info announced a couple weeks ago that they heard things were better and so far, that appears to be the case.
So PUT UP, OR SHUT UP. FIND A RECENTLY MANUFACTURED PROBLEM PLAYFIELD OR CUT YOUR WHINING.
In fact, please prove me wrong. I have a Premium GB on order, scheduled to arrive sometime in October. If someone can find a problem playfield, I'll put my order on hold for the time being.
So... "Anyone?"

Quoted from tpoeckh:

That Super Jackpot insert looks like it will chip/crack for sure. Sorry to hear that not even the playfield protector was able to prevent this from developing so fast.

Quoted from Cdonnerusmc:

The playfield protector definitely has done its job though! I did a very close inspection of the playfield this Morning and did not find a single dimple im the playfield

Quoted from Cdonnerusmc:

Ok so i finally unloaded my Ghostbusters premium from the portland retro gaming expo, my playfield has had a stamp of September 22 2016 and my machines Back box sticker is Oct 4 2016, again it had 0 plays before having a full playfield protector from Germany installed,shaker motor,and mirror blades and code update. It then went directly to the gaming expo where it was played on free play Friday night Saturday and Sunday. We noticed ghosting Friday night and by Saturday it was a lot worse. At the expo with the glass on it looked as if the air balls had dimpled the playfield through the protector but today I took the glass off and used novus 2 and the playfield along with the protector look brand new. I did a pretty detailed inspection and found 0 dimples at all. So i would highly recommend the playfield protector. As far as the ghosting goes, it's bad.. as you can see in my pictures provided. I ordered the cliffy shooter protector but sadly it did take a little longer to get here than i had hoped so I do have damage to my shooter lane. But honestly I expected it. Other than that the plastic on the top of the shooter lane broke off completely early Saturday morning again Its in the pictures. Not sure if everyone caught the side bu side comparison someone did on to machines using the same camera etc.. I can confirm that i have one of the less brilliant playfields mine looks washed out compared to the non ghosting playfields. At this point I honestly believe the number of plays has nothing to do with the ghosting issues Im guessing heat/humidity and cheap glue is the problem.. But this is just my opinion . Anyway hopefully this information has helped. I know a few people may still question this but i honestly have no reason to make things up I am being 100% honest and open about every issue i have had. If anyone needs or would loke more pictures please let me know.
Side note do not trust the position of the little rubber stoppers on the head to line up with your side rails.... you have been warned

Quoted from rubberducks:

Losing an engineer of 40 years in a company that size and responsible for that kind of production isn't going to result in this. The rumour sounds totally spurious, or perhaps started by Sternistas to deflect.

Quoted from Aurich:

Hopefully they fix it, sucks for anyone who gets screwed. But why not just wait until Stern stops playing the stupid lalalala silence game and announces they've fixed it? Why roll the dice? Do you really need a game that fast?

Quoted from zr11990:

If you get hit by a bus you will need money for medical bills and you wont be able to work so you will need money. Don't buy the pinball machine at all.

Quoted from tpoeckh:

A pinball cannot dimple the playfield with the protector installed, the makrolon is too hard and distributes the pressure from the impacts. That is why it is surprising even with the pressure distribution of the protector, the inserts look like that.

Quoted from rubberducks:

It isn't surprising at all, and a makrolon protector will have close to no effect on preventing inserts rising or sinking. Once they've dropped or risen so far that chipping becomes an issue, it will help stop them getting totally smashed.
The inserts are sinking or popping up because the wood is too young and too soft. It's moving and warping, hence all the inserts (particularly triangular ones) ghosting. Plus they probably don't allow adequate time for the adhesives to settle properly before the pfs are transported or machines undergo final assembly, and become subject to vibrations and loads.

Quoted from tpoeckh:

I've never seen it confirmed that the issue is due to the playfield manufacturer using wood that is too young and soft. Some have also speculated that the clearcoat may not have had proper time to cure, etc.. Nothing I've seen has confirmed why the ghosting occurs, so this is just speculation on your part.

Quoted from rubberducks:

No it is not speculation.
This is why inserts rise or fall. The 'ghosting' you see is due to an initial and small rise or drop of the plastic insert in its hole. This typically gets worse over time, until such time as there is a pronounced lip which will then get smashed to pieces by the ball.
The clearcoat itself is obviously less than ideal given that bits of it fall off and chip so quickly, but that's probably at least in part due to the wood moving as much as it does. But the clear is not the cause of 'ghosting' ... the whole insert falling into or being pushed out of the playfield is what you are seeing.

Quoted from tpoeckh:

When no one, including Stern (officially) has revealed the exact cause of the issue with the new playfields, I'm going to take your "expert" opinion with a grain of salt. Just hoping the issue is finally resolved with the machines in production now as my Ghostbusters Premium ships Friday.

Quoted from rubberducks:

I'm not sure if you're trolling or actually serious. Stern will never say what happened, at least not with any element of truth.
I'll explain very simply:
1) You are seeing 'ghosting'.
2) What is ghosting? The insert is either rising or falling in its insert (usually rising out of), applying pressure to the layer of clearcoat over it and turning it opaque in the process.
3) But why doesn't the whole insert go opaque? Because as the insert rises or falls, the clear in the middle of the insert and the clear on the playfield around the insert don't have additional pressure placed on them. Around the edge of the insert is where the force is exerted on the layer of clear.
4) So why does this happen? For the insert to rise up out of or drop down into the playfield, the playfield must be moving, warping and expanding and contracting. Usually if it happens at all on playfields it's due to many years of often hard use, the adhesives eventually breaking down that hold the insert in place, and storage in poor conditions. The triangular inserts having more issues or going first is due to 'pinching'.
5) So why is it happening so quickly? Most games are coming out of their boxes fine (a few exceptions). If the adhesive used to hold the insert in place was seriously faulty or not set, then more games would be coming straight out of the box with ghosted inserts, as the constant vibration during transport would make everything ghost. Most of the ghosting is occurring after the game has been set up, and within hours and sometimes minutes of play beginning. During the normal course of play, there will be larger forces placed on the playfield by the player moving the game, coils and mechs firing etc etc than during transport or assembly. This will cause some movement in the wood. Historically this has not been a major issue, as the wood is old enough and hard enough that it doesn't move and warp enough to cause immediate ghosting (and then serious playfield and insert damage) within the space of a minute percentage of the game's expected life. As the wood is very soft and very young, we see the recent problems with Stern.
6) So why are they doing this? One can only speculate, but softer younger wood is cheaper wood ...
Any questions?

Quoted from tpoeckh:

I'm not sure why you feel the need for a dissertation here. Total waste of time and I'm not going to bother reading an essay on an enthusiast forum. You don't know the cause of the Stern playfield issues, but can speculate on possible causes, which young cheaper wood could be one, agreed. However, this isn't proof that this is what is causing the delamination of the clear coat from the plastic inserts, or the chipping of clear coat in the shooter lane for the Stern playfields in question. You're trying to present your opinion as fact, and I'm calling it out. This doesn't make me a troll.

Quoted from pindude80:

Dang man, I can't believe the shooter lane looks that punished with under 1k plays How many total ghosted inserts do you have? Did you notice any inserts ghosted when you first took it out of the box?

Quoted from thall17:

Can we order and feel good about spending $6k?

Quoted from thall17:

But is it fixed? Can we order and feel good about spending $6k?

Quoted from jeffspinballpalace:

Playfields have not been fixed, this according to Stern three weeks ago, and they haven't announced a resolution since. If you don't wish to gamble $6k / $8k /$10k / $12k / $15k on a new Stern with possible clearcoat issues, put your money away in the sock drawer and walk away until the end of 2016 to insure all ghosts have been busted.
I'd be more concerned about excessive bubbles occurring on some inserts, making them look crappy. That may have been a few bad batches of inserts or it may be still be a valid concern, but you don't want that, and Stern won't acknowledge it is even an issue. Anyways you asked for a status on Stern's manufacturing process and an opinion on buying a new one, and now you have one.

Quoted from jeffspinballpalace:

Playfields have not been fixed, this according to Stern three weeks ago, and they haven't announced a resolution since. If you don't wish to gamble $6k / $8k /$10k / $12k / $15k on a new Stern with possible clearcoat issues, put your money away in the sock drawer and walk away until the end of 2016 to insure all ghosts have been busted.
I'd be more concerned about excessive bubbles occurring on some inserts, making them look crappy. That may have been a few bad batches of inserts or it may be still be a valid concern, but you don't want that, and Stern won't acknowledge it is even an issue. Anyways you asked for a status on Stern's manufacturing process and an opinion on buying a new one, and now you have one.

Quoted from nowakster:

Where is the stern statement from three weeks ago? A friend of mine got a premium and reports no issues

Quoted from jeffspinballpalace:

Playfields have not been fixed, this according to Stern three weeks ago, and they haven't announced a resolution since. If you don't wish to gamble $6k / $8k /$10k / $12k / $15k on a new Stern with possible clearcoat issues, put your money away in the sock drawer and walk away until the end of 2016 to insure all ghosts have been busted.
I'd be more concerned about excessive bubbles occurring on some inserts, making them look crappy. That may have been a few bad batches of inserts or it may be still be a valid concern, but you don't want that, and Stern won't acknowledge it is even an issue. Anyways you asked for a status on Stern's manufacturing and opinion on buying new today, and now you have it.

Quoted from jeffspinballpalace:

Playfields have not been fixed, this according to Stern three weeks ago, and they haven't announced a resolution since. If you don't wish to gamble $6k / $8k /$10k / $12k / $15k on a new Stern with possible clearcoat issues, put your money away in the sock drawer and walk away until the end of 2016 to ionsure all ghosts have been busted.
I'd be more concerned about excessive bubbles occurring on some inserts, making them look crappy. That may have been a few bad batches of inserts or it may be still be a valid concern, but you don't want that, and Stern won't acknowledge it is even an issue. Anyways you asked for a status on Stern's manufacturing and opinion on buying new today, and now you have it.

Quoted from extendo:

There are 4782 posts and 96 pages. Has anyone on this thread had a playfield replaced?